"Feathers," "Chef's House," "Preservation," "The Compartment," "Vitamins" Post 5: Found Poem

The poem I created stemmed from the following lines (please note that I broke the lines down and mixed them around in order to create more fluent poetry):


“I caught myself talking like it was something that had happened in the past” (Chefs House 381).
“Someday, they’ll understand things.” (Chefs House 381).
“that will be the end of it” (Chefs house 382).
“Telephone call told her that he was dead” (Preservation 390).
“she waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn’t” (preservation 391).
“I gave you life and I can take it back” (Compartment 393).
“a look of total incomprehension” (Compartment 397)
“the hand of his enemy” (Compartment 398)
“being carried, then pulled back, into sleep” (Compartment 401).
“not be able to push the doorbell” (vitamins 426).
“she walked to Euclid avenue and out of our lives” (Vitamins429).
“I can’t remember what I dream. Maybe I don’t dream” (Vitamins 430)
“things kept falling” (vitamins 440).

Found Poem

I caught myself talking

like it was something that had happened

in the past

Someday,

they’ll understand things

that will be the end of it

                                                           telephone call

she waited for him

to say something, anything

but he didn’t

a look of total

incomprehension

he was dead

the hand of his enemy

being carried, then pulled back

into sleep

                                                             push the doorbell

I gave you life and I can

take it back

I can’t remember what I dream

  “she walked to Euclid avenue”

out of our lives,

things kept

f

a

l

l

i

n

g

maybe I don’t dream 

Voicethread:

Response:

            Let me start off by saying that I really like this assignment because I love writing poetry and using the work of another artist as inspiration (and framework) is definitely a useful constraint. I chose the lines I did because I feel as if they do a great job at capturing a beautiful picture with only a few words. Carver does a great job at conveying emotions and aesthetics through only a few words. To me, all of the lines I chose could work individually as great poems. Similar to Hemmingway’s short poem, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn,” I think the lines I have chosen could create lasting conversation. Often time’s poetry is seen as the creation of multiple lines, stanzas, and the implementation of poetic devices. I think it is important for us, and for our students, to consider the fact that poetry doesn’t always have to be sets of stanzas; it could just be one line… maybe even one word. Anyway, enough about my rant on poetics, I will now explain why I chose some of the lines I did.

             The three lines from “Chef’s House” capture some very important plot occurrences. The first line where Edna explains, “I caught myself talking like it was something that had happened in the past” (381) is crucial because it addresses the relationship between Edna and Wes toward the end of the story. More specifically, upon realizing they had to leave the house, Edna and Wes begin talking about their summer experience as if it were an experience that occurred way back in the past (realistically, it is just about to end). I chose “someday, they’ll understand things” (381) because it is a line spoken by Edna about her and Wes’ kids understanding his bad habits and why their family grew apart. “That will be the end of it” (382) is the last line of the story spoken by Edna. The line is literally about how after cleaning up the house that will be the end of the couple’s time there. However, one would argue that it is Edna explaining that once they move out, that’s the end of the relationship between Edna and Wes. Edna tried to talk sense into Wes, but he remained pessimistic once he heard they had to move out.

            One line I chose from “Preservation,” mentions how Sandy found out her father was dead through a telephone call. This line is important because it sheds light on the disconnect between Sandy and her father and how sad it is that he died after they hadn’t spoken for a while. They line also adds a level of drama to the story because Sandy used to go with her father to auctions when she was a kid and she’s about to go to one with her husband. The other line I chose just showcases her husband’s inability to function as he once did after being laid off.

            “The Compartment” is a great story rich with plenty of awesome quotes. I chose the ones I did because they emphasize how rocky the relationship is between Myers and his son. “Incomprehension” and “enemy” are two words that I think are important to the central plot of the story. One would argue that Myers seems to be pretty indecisive in the story, especially at the end. I also chose the line in which Myer’s describes what he said to his son the last time he saw him, “I gave you life and I can take it back” (393). When we read this line, we are able to figure out what kind of relationship Myers had with his son the last time he saw him. I thought about times where I had verbal altercations with people and said certain things I regretted afterwards. It seemed as though Myers felt bad for what he said (because he’s going to visit his son, after all), but it is clear at the end of the story that Myers still resents his son (which is why he doesn’t get off the train). The last line I chose is the last line of the story where we read about Myers finally being able to fall asleep. I think it’s interesting how he cannot fall asleep in the compartment by himself, but he has no problem falling asleep in a compartment packed full of people. I would argue that Myers couldn’t sleep in his own compartment because he was alone with his thought. Once he goes into the compartment where people are telling stories, he falls asleep (probably because he felt at ease hearing something besides his own thoughts).

            The lines I chose from “Vitamins” are lines that I felt discussed many important movements in the plot. My favorite line out of all of the lines I chose for this poem is the line in “Vitamins” that reads, “things kept falling” (440). These are the last words in the story and I don’t think Carver could have ended it better. Once again, Carver cuts a story off mid-conversation, as if to give his story a “natural” ending. To me, those final lines mean that the situation between the narrator and Patti just got worse. I also think it’s interesting that the story ends with the narrator searching for aspirin. He’s looking for something to cure him, but I wonder how temporary that cure would have been? To compare it to his relationship to Patti, I wonder if they’re too far into the complications of their relationship that they are beyond repair (beyond any type of aspirin).

            I decided not to use any lines from feathers because I didn’t see them fitting into the poem I wrote. I will say, though, that I really like that whole living room scene where they notice Olla’s teeth. Weird, but for some reason it reminded me of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying because Anse was always talking about new teeth.